This footage shows Ukrainian troops pulling a piece off a downed Russian fighter jet.
The images show the Ukrainian troops pulling off a chunk of the downed Russian aircraft with a military truck.
The person filming the video can be heard saying: “We weakened the construction, now we will put it, we tried it once, but did not know how the fastenings were made.”
The person filming then says: “There are two loops made from such crazy material. Now one can be seen in the nearby hatch. In the nearby hatch, there were cones. There are two of them, an eyelet.”
And as a chunk of the aircraft is pulled down, he can be heard saying in the footage: “That’s the way! This is how cities were built and evil empires collapsed. Here you go!”
The camera then pans right and shows a Ukrainian military truck to which the piece of the aircraft that has just been pulled down is attached.
Two other soldiers can be seen in front of the truck. The soldier filming then says: “This truck was kindly purchased for us by Serhiy Prytula.”
Serhiy Prytula is a Ukrainian politician who became popular as a TV presenter and actor and who has focused on raising money for the Armed Forces of Ukraine since the beginning of the Russian invasion.
The person filming then adds: “We hope for another one. Pull, pull, pull. Tear off the hinges. Pull! Pull! That’s it!”
The person filming them instructs the soldiers and the truck to stop what they are doing as the piece of the aircraft appears to have become detached from the rest of the metal carcass.
The soldiers inspect their work and determine that the piece of metal is now only attached by “tubes” and inner components.
The person filming then announces that they have successfully dismantled one of the plane’s wheels. As the other soldiers make the victory sign with their hands and smile, he says: “This is what is going to happen to every plane.”
The images were obtained from the Ukrainian Ministry of Defence (MoD) on Wednesday, 24th October, along with a statement saying: “The Russian Aerospace Forces are a good supplier of scrap metal for Ukraine.”
The images and statement were also relayed by the Office of Strategic Communications (StratCom) of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
Russia invaded Ukraine on 24th February in what the Kremlin is still calling a “special military operation”. Today marks the 244th day of the war.
The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported that between 24th February and 25th October, Russia had lost about 68,420 personnel, 2,611 tanks, 5,321 armoured combat vehicles, 1,674 artillery units, 377 multiple launch rocket systems, 190 air defence systems, 271 warplanes, 248 helicopters, 1,372 drones, 350 cruise missiles, 16 warships, 4,054 motor vehicles and fuel tankers, and 149 units of special equipment.
Russia has claimed that its casualties have been much lower but provides infrequent updates on its latest figures.
Sergei Shoigu, the Russian Defence Minister, has reportedly told some of his Western counterparts that the war is heading towards “uncontrolled escalation”, with Moscow reportedly assessing how it will react if it is defeated in the southern Ukrainian city of Kherson.
Kyrylo Budanov, the Chief of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ukrainian Ministry of Defence, has said that Russia is sending new military units into Kherson in preparation for the advancing Ukrainian counteroffensive.
Budanov also said that Russia would only slow down the advance of Ukraine’s troops in the south of the country by approximately two weeks were it to blow up the nearby Kakhovka dam.
The United Nations’ (UN) nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), is sending inspectors to Ukraine after the country requested that an expert mission be sent to disapprove Russia’s claims that Ukraine is planning to use a “dirty bomb”.
The UN has said that urgent steps need to be taken to deal with a backlog of over 150 ships involved in the Ukrainian grain export deal in the Black Sea. Ukraine has said that Russian inspections are creating “significant” delays and are “politically motivated”.
Ukraine’s President, Volodymyr Zelensky, has asked Israel to support its fight against Russia by providing Israeli air defence systems. Israel has condemned Russia’s invasion of Ukraine but has so far only assisted Ukraine by giving humanitarian aid and defensive equipment.
Anton Krasovsky, a pro-Putin television presenter, has been accused of inciting genocide after saying that Ukrainian children should be “drowned” and “burned” alive during an interview on the state-funded channel RT.
Krasovsky was suspended pending an investigation after his comments caused a significant backlash. The head of Russia’s investigative committee has said that it will review his comments as part of a possible criminal investigation.
